Block J of Montbau Estate

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In general, in the blocks built in the 60s there is a clear differentiation between the structural and the closing purposes that are manifested in the external appearance.
Good results were achieved with simple resources, within the reach of the economy of social housing, giving a certain prestige to the ensembles and thus to the idea of creating neighbourhoods with which the residents could feel identified and proud. The materials are left as they are, façades that show unclad brick, pure volumes, without pitched roofs or cornices or plinths, still built with load-bearing walls.
The innovation in Block J comes from the use of reinforced ceramics in the slabs, which has a structural behavior like that of reinforced concrete. The resulting formal "sincerity" is recognised in the overhangs of the balconies and in the composition of the factory, with successive vertical and horizontal joints, making the loss of the structural role of the façade lock obvious.

Author: Janice Moret

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Montbau Industrial Estate

Giráldez - López Iñigo - Subías Arquitectes, Guillermo Giráldez Dávila, Pedro López Iñigo, Xavier Subías i Fages

The Montbau district, located below the Tibidabo, next to Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, has a total area of approximately 31 Ha. The part built today, or in a very advanced stage of construction, consists of two basic residential units. The garden and the neighbourhood park are also practically finished. A group of about 70 single-family homes in the upper part of the slope is currently under construction, a group that we will not include in the present analysis because it is in a very little advanced phase and, therefore, without specific data. The architect of this group is Joan Bosch. Who are the authors of Montbau? Here is a first concrete problem that can lead us to general considerations. Due to programming requirements, the Municipal Housing Board decided to commission the architects Guillermo Giráldez, Pedro López and Xavier Subías with the urgency of a very few weeks as a matter of urgency. By what criteria were these architects chosen? Probably for simple reasons of proximity, administrative relationship, circumstantial insufficiency of the technical staff itself, etc. But was there a concern to choose a good team precisely for one of the largest projects that were then being developed? At least, or was there an awareness that, by chance and for reasons of bureaucratic convenience, he had fallen into the hands of a good team, then with a promising youthful push? * The original Partial Plan was altered, both in its first phase, slightly, and in the second one, with a change of drafting team and urban planning that substantially modified it.
Block J of Montbau Estate

Joan Montero Pazos, Jaume Seguí Alea, Francesc Vayreda i Bofill

In general, in the blocks built in the 60s there is a clear differentiation between the structural and the closing purposes that are manifested in the external appearance. Good results were achieved with simple resources, within the reach of the economy of social housing, giving a certain prestige to the ensembles and thus to the idea of creating neighbourhoods with which the residents could feel identified and proud. The materials are left as they are, façades that show unclad brick, pure volumes, without pitched roofs or cornices or plinths, still built with load-bearing walls. The innovation in Block J comes from the use of reinforced ceramics in the slabs, which has a structural behavior like that of reinforced concrete. The resulting formal "sincerity" is recognised in the overhangs of the balconies and in the composition of the factory, with successive vertical and horizontal joints, making the loss of the structural role of the façade lock obvious.
Montbau Industrial Estate: First Unit

Giráldez - López Iñigo - Subías Arquitectes, Guillermo Giráldez Dávila, Pedro López Iñigo, Xavier Subías i Fages

The architects quickly made a complete enough Advanced Plan to approach the requirements of a Partial Plan (1957) so it could be presented at an urgent commemorative exhibition. After the exhibition, the City Council's Technical Services completed, modified and, in fact, redrafted the Plan until it was fully approved. Among these corrections, imposed through the procedure, it is necessary to consider some of special importance: the addition of another floor to all the buildings that appeared in the Plan. It was a last-minute 'administrative' imposition, given the fear that the land would be too expensive due to low building density. Here is how, with the simple handling of the aseptic and seemingly harmless text of the Volumetric Ordinances, one can redo an inclusive plan and misrepresent on possible guiding ideas. With this distortion, the Plan was approved on December 13, 1957. In accordance with this project, the Board carries out the first sector. The Board of Trustees is limited to acting as a general developer, making various private entities, especially Cooperatives, act as owners and builders. The administrative system is interesting and proves to be extraordinarily effective, especially in economic channeling, and even in some limited sociological integration.